How a Moon-Sized Deep Impact Affected Early Life on Earth
Astrobites reports on Earth’s early days, when massive asteroid impacts may have rendered our home planet somewhat less than hospitable.
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Spotting Dots on the Sun
The Solar Orbiter spacecraft has snapped photos of tiny, bright dots on the Sun. What’s the deal with these dots?
Perspectives on Data Management, Stewardship, and Preserving Astronomical Artifacts
A new special collection of the Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society encapsulates the work presented at LISA IX, a conference dedicated to stewardship of historical and modern astronomical data.
Could Binary Stars Help Trace the Milky Way’s Dark Matter?
What do binary stars have to do with dark matter? More than you might expect!
Which Habitable Zone Planets Are the Best Candidates for Detecting Life?
Astrobites reports on the “continuous habitable zone” — an important criterion for selecting exoplanets for future atmospheric characterization.
Featured Image: Deep Imaging of a Radio Relic
Nearby galaxy cluster Abell 2256 is home to some amazing radio structures, which new observations have revealed in greater detail than ever before.
A Possible Optical Counterpart to FRB 180916B?
What could the discovery of an optical transient counterpart to FRB 180916B tell us about the origin of fast radio busts?
Crustal Clues to Earth’s Formation
Earth’s crust contains heavy metals that are more commonly found in its core. Can models help us understand how these elements ended up there?
Turning On the Lights: Modeling the Sources of Cosmic Reionization
Astrobites reports on whether it really matters how stars and galaxies caused cosmic reionization or if it all comes out in the (simulated) wash.
Solving a Fifty-Year Star-Formation Mystery
Can new models finally resolve a long-lasting disagreement between the observed and predicted Milky Way star-formation rates?
Lofty Goals: Can Electric Fields Lift Particles Off an Asteroid’s Surface?
Spacecraft observations revealed sprays of particles escaping from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. What force set these particles in motion?
Fashionably Late: Why Some Supernovae Brighten Months After Exploding
A new theory shows how echoes of past perturbations can explain why some supernovae brighten long after exploding.